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We were expecting the Wild. Instead, we got the Wild-eyed. It’s important, sometimes, to differentiate between effort and passion. The Minnesota Wild rarely lack the former. In fact, they are known for working hard. Yet it often seemed that the fire, the emotion, didn’t quite match the exertion. Hockey appeared to be strictly business.

DALLAS — John Torchetti’s carousel search for a suitable left wing to play on the Wild’s top line spun again Saturday, this time landing on an unconventional answer. After Jason Zucker yielded a single shot on goal in Game 1 from the position left vacant by injuries to Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek, Mikael Granlund, typically a center, was slotted to the left of Mikko Koivu on the team’s top line in an attempt to spark offense for a Wild team that entered Game 2 here with six goals in their past six games.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twins’ first victory of the season came just in time to save Brian Dozier’s famous coiffure from early-season devastation. Before a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, third baseman Trevor Plouffe kept trying to convince Dozier to let go of his locks.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings better be ready to be prime-time players. After making the playoffs last season for just the second time in six years, Minnesota will be featured four times in prime time in 2016 and also will have a nationally televised game at Detroit on Thanksgiving.

DALLAS — The Wild’s Game 1 reckoning did not end with the final horn of their 4-0 loss to the Stars, it extended into Friday’s video review directed by dogmatic taskmaster John Torchetti. The interim coach counted 18 neutral-zone turnovers among Minnesota’s myriad sins. It is hard enough to defeat the NHL’s highest-scoring team on equal terms, but spoon-feeding Dallas pucks and momentum was a blueprint for failure.

UNCASVILLE, Ct. — For the first time in more than a decade, the Gophers have top-five picks in consecutive years in the WNBA Draft. Rachel Banham was selected No. 4 overall by the Connecticut Sun on Thursday night. Banham, the Big Ten player of the year and the conference’s all-time leading scorer, follows former Minnesota center Amanda Zahui B., who was the No. 2 pick last year. Lindsay Whalen (No. 4) and Janel McCarville (No. 1) were selected in the first round in consecutive years in 2004 and 2005.

MINNEAPOLIS — Glen Perkins made a point to tell Twins bullpen coach Eddie Guardado that the ball was coming out well before his appearance in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to Kansas City. Things changed when he entered the game.